


There's Always Another Way

by LittleLadyBigDreamer



Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-25
Updated: 2017-02-25
Packaged: 2018-09-26 20:52:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9921674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleLadyBigDreamer/pseuds/LittleLadyBigDreamer
Summary: An event from Eve's past throws an unexpected curveball into her and Flynn's life.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So this idea hit me one night and I couldn't let it go. * Throws angst and runs *

"Negative," Eve announced with dismay, sheer disappointment painted on her face.

"All of them?" Flynn inquired, voice soft and carrying hope. Eve nodded, holding up the three sticks in her hand, all of them bearing a solid pink line. "I’m sorry," he simply said, mirroring her heartbroken expression. Holding his arms open he urged her towards him. Wasting no time she rushed forwards and threw her arms around him, burrowing into the comfort of his neck.

"Why isn't it happening for us?" she quietly wept.

Having wrapped his arms around her, he held her tighter in his embrace.

"I don't know honey," he answered, pressing a kiss to her blonde locks. After a moment of just holding her, his hand soothingly running up and down her back, he added, "Maybe we should find out."

"What do you mean?" she asked, lifting her head a little to look at him.

"Maybe we should both get checked out, just in case there's a reason you're not getting pregnant," he explained. "I mean it could be nothing, but if there is a reason we should know it."

"Okay," she gave a small nod. "I'll call up the morning and make an appointment."

"And hopefully no vengeful mythological gods will keep us from attending that appointment," Flynn added, only half joking.

Eve let out a short puff of laughter. "Yeah, that will not be easy to explain."

"Come on," said Flynn, giving her arm a quick rub. "Let's go to bed."

Eve nodded and tore away from him, making her way back to the bathroom. With one final woeful glance at the sticks in her hand, she tossed them into the trashcan with a sigh and began to prepare for bed.

 

When she returned to Flynn a short while later, she found him already tucked under the covers awaiting her. He smiled when he saw her and held out an arm for her to join him.

Strolling over to the bed, Eve quickly crawled in and instantly curled up against him. One leg strewn over his, her head rested on his chest, hands tucked under her chin so she could cuddle up more closely.

She burrowed into him, breathing in his comforting scent. That lingering essence of the pages of old books entwined with coffee and the smell of his cologne, currently mixed with a hint of the moisturiser he used nightly, that was what she loved.

She didn't know why but it always sent relief rushing through her, seemingly calming her heartbeat even if she wasn't aware that it was unsettled. Maybe it was something to do with knowing he was right there beside her, not out in some life-threatening situation from which she was unsure he'd return from. Maybe it was the added comfort of his arms around her, shielding her from the painful memories of everything she'd seen, and everything she was yet to face. Or maybe it was simply the fact that she loved him, and when he said 'forever' she knew he meant it, because they were each other's home.

Whatever it was, she never wanted to lose it.

Flynn's formerly awaiting arm curled around her, enveloping her in a warm embrace. Raising his hand to her head, he toyed with her hair, fingers gently twirling clusters of soft strands.

He remembered the first time he held her so close, it had been slightly awkward and he'd made the cliché move of pretending he wasn't trying to do it. But Eve being Eve had noticed, smiled knowingly and cuddled up to, letting him know it was okay and consequently making his nerves disappear. So with a little more confidence he'd slid his arm around her, and she'd settled against him. He knew then that he was holding everything he'd ever need and that he was falling fast.

"What do you think they'll be like?" Eve asked, breaking their silence and pulling him out of his reverie.

"Who?" he inquired.

"Our baby," she clarified as her fingers crept out from her balled up fists and began to dance lightly over his belly. "If we ever have one."

"When," Flynn firmly corrected her. " _When_  we have one."

She peered up at him, a slight smile at her lips, and met his deep brown eyes. "Okay, when," she conceded. "What do you think they'll be like?"

"Hmm," he murmured, adjusting his position on his pillow and glancing up to the ceiling in thought. "I think they'll be smart, and brave." Unbeknown to Eve his gaze flickered down to her before he added, "beautiful." Somewhat unconsciously, he moved his hand towards her, intertwining their fingers. "They'll be kind and have good morals. They'll be passionate and caring."

"They sound perfect," she remarked in a soft voice, dimples appearing on her cheeks where tears had previously fallen.

"Well they'll be half you, they have an advantage there," he replied in reference to her light-hearted proclamation that she was flawless. "And you know else?"

"What?"

"They'll probably have freezing feet that they insist on putting on me." He jabbed at her side playfully, earning a small laugh from her.

"I can't help it, you're always warm and I'm always not," she cried in defence.

"Yeah, sure," feigned disbelief. "You know what I know for sure?"

"What?" She glanced back up at him, curiosity flickering amidst the sparkling blue of her irises.

"With you as their mom, they're going to be the luckiest kid in the world."

Her curiosity turned to tears and she leaned up and placed a soft kiss to his lips.

"You're too good to me," she whispered, their faces pressed so close together their noses grazed delicately against one another.

"I was expecting you to tell me what an amazing dad I'll be but sure," Flynn teased in reply.

Eve chuckled softly, her eyes twinkling in bemusement. Cupping his cheek, she ran her thumb over the defined line of his jaw and said, "You're gonna be the best daddy in the world."

Flynn stared at her for a moment, gazing lovingly at the sincerity that shone in her eyes. Then, wearing the hint of a grin he replied, "Well I had to prompt you so I'm not so sure I believe you now."

His mock disbelief only served to make her smile more. "Believe this then," she murmured.

Leaning forward she caught his lips between her own and kissed him again. It was more firm this time, though still tender and full of promise. She took a deep breath, drinking him in as her lips clung to his own.

Flynn found himself gently pushing back against her, lightly sipping, the mint from her toothpaste passing over the softness of her pink lips and running over his tongue as their breaths mingled. When she pulled away, dragging herself from the sweetness of his mouth, it took him a moment to recover, slowly flickering open his eyes and finally focusing on her.

"You're my favourite person in the whole world," she murmured when she knew she had his attention, "and you're going to be an amazing father."

"I guess I believe you a little more," he replied in a low voice, dimples creeping up to his cheeks. "But I'm going to need a little more convincing."

"Oh?" she raised an eyebrow, indulging him. Flynn nodded in reply, lips curling into a smile when she leaned in again to reclaim his mouth.

* * *

"Hello?" Eve said, answering her phone. "Oh hi," she added brightly when the caller identified themselves as the doctor from the clinic they'd visited.

After the pair had exchanged pleasantries, the soft speaking lady on the other end of the line told her she had the results of their tests.

"Oh," was all Eve could muster in reply.

Nervousness suddenly ran through her.

_"Is your husband with you right now?"_  the doctor asked.

"Uh no he's not," Eve informed her. "He's...away on business." _Technically that was true._

_"Would you prefer it if I called back when he returned? Or we can arrange for the both of you to visit and I can give you the results then?"_ she offered.

"Oh no, I'm not sure I can wait," Eve confessed. "He'd want me to know as soon as possible anyway, and I'll tell him the first chance I get. You can tell me over the phone can't you?"

_"I can,"_ she confirmed. _"I mean I really think it would be best to do this face-to-face but I know you were eager to know the results and you said you and your husband were often away for work."_

She seemed to be having an internal battle with herself, debating whether to relay such information in what seemed to her like such a cold manner.

Her words and tone did nothing to soothe Eve whose heart suddenly picked up it's speed, thumping against her chest like a boxer attempting to claim victory over his opponent. Her and Flynn's future would potentially be decided on the outcome of this phone call, and by the sound of it the prospect didn't seem one over which they should expect to be popping open a bottle of champagne.

"Doctor," she said, her voice quiet and expectant. "Please tell me."

The other woman gave a small but unmistakable sigh and conceded before revealing to Eve the results she'd so desperately been awaiting. As she spoke Eve sat down on the edge of the bed, listening intently and picking at the edge of the white sheets beneath her.

"Yeah but that was so long ago," she voiced in reply to a question the doctor had asked. "No one said anything at the time so I assumed everything was fine." She fell silent again as the doctor continued her explanation, only letting out a quiet, 'oh' when the woman relayed her penultimate statement regarding the matter.

_"I want to stress Eve that it's by no means impossible."_ The Guardian simply nodded as though the two were in the same room. _"If you have any questions you have the direct line to my office. If I'm not available leave a message with my assistant and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. But feel free to make another appointment for the both of you to come and see me if you or he want any further information and want to discuss your options from here."_

"Yeah," Eve managed to utter before building up the courage to add, "Thank you."

_"You're welcome. Take care."_

With a small 'goodbye' Eve clicked off and stared at the phone in her hand, a deafening silence beginning to spin around her. Her throat was dry and started to ache as stinging tears brimmed in her eyes. A throbbing pained her head, though it was barely comparable to the agonising thoughts burdening her mind.

She wondered how she was going to tell him and cursed her own irresponsibility in the process. An unsettling swirling sensation grew in her stomach and nausea hit her, the queasiness slowly moving upwards and getting caught in her sandpaper throat which now felt as though a golf ball was stuck in it.

In a rare moment in her life, Eve Baird didn't know what to do.

There was a situation over which she had no control, she could do nothing to fix it and she had no idea how to deal with that.

She'd never really thought she'd be in this situation, never thought she wanted to be. Occasionally of course thoughts about the future hit both her and Flynn individually but neither said anything to the other. Besides, those moments were brief and often disturbed by their duty to save the world from the possible catastrophic consequences of misused magic. Once they'd married however, the topic lingered over them like the overarching arms of a willow, and they decided they could no longer ignore it. Somewhat surprisingly to her, considering she was usually the one that didn't hold back and just preferred to confront things head on, it had been Flynn that had brought up that particular matter.

 

(It had been a late spring day and as the couple's work day came to a successful end they had decided to walk home, taking in the hues of orange meandering in the early evening sky as a soft warm breeze fluttered around them. Turning the corner onto their street they saw the children and father of one of the families that lived a few doors away from them.

The youngest boy was being taught how to ride his bike, and as Eve and Flynn neared their home, he came at them on the two-wheeler at full speed, a sudden fear overwhelming him and making him forget the purpose of the brakes beneath his fingers. His eyes widened and he let out one long yell, ignoring the cries of his father who was urging him to stop.

Seeing the look of sheer panic on the boy’s face and knowing he'd either crash into them, a streetlight or the pavement, Eve slipped her hand out from Flynn's and ran towards the boy. 

Arms out in front of her, she placed one firm hand on the handlebars, the other on the back of the seat, halting the bike and the terrified boy just as he'd begun to topple over. It didn't take long for tears to trickle down his flushed cheeks once he'd realised he had a slightly bloody graze running down his calf to his ankle.

With a soothing hand on the small of his back, Eve had told him it was all okay and that he'd be fine. The softness of her voice seemed to appease him but as his gaze returned to the streaks of red dripping down his leg his lip began to quiver once more.

It was just a scratch, she'd told him, a battle wound he could show off to all of his friends when he told them that he could ride a bike  _without_  training wheels, because technically he had been riding the bike, he just forgot how to stop it.

"Battle wound," he'd repeated in a marvelled whisper, eyes wide in astonishment. "Like a soldier? Like _you_?"

"Yup," she'd nodded. "I think you've got what it takes to make the cut."

"Really?! Even though I got hurt and cried?"

"I've seen bigger men cry over small things," she'd replied, a twinkle in her eye.

It had been then that the boy's father finally reached them. "Eddie, you okay buddy?"

"He's fine," Eve had answered giving the man a reassuring smile. "Just a scratch."

He'd let out a sigh of relief and run a hand through his messy blonde hair. "Thanks for catching him there Eve."

"No problem Chuck."

"Daddy I'm gonna be a soldier!" Eddie had cried out, reinforcing her statement that he was okay.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah! Eve said so! I have a battle wound!"

"Eddie, what did we say about names?"

"Mrs Carsen said so," Eddie had muttered, correcting himself. "Sorry," he'd directed at Eve, looking up at her with his big brown eyes.

"That's okay," she'd tried to hide a grin. "But you know what really makes you a soldier?" The boy had shook his head, continuing to stare at her. "Being really really brave and getting right back up when you fall."

"I can do that!" he'd insisted.

"I bet you can." 

"Daddy did you hear?" he'd cried excitedly.

"I heard kiddo," his father had grinned. "Come on, let's go get you cleaned up." He'd picked his little boy up and rested him on his hip before using his free hand to carry the bike.

"Bye!" Eddie had done his best to swivel around and in his father's hold and wave goodbye to Eve who'd saluted in response.

"Take care soldier."

"Thanks again," Chuck had said before directing a small nod to Eve's right. 

Following his motion she'd looked beside her just as she felt a hand press against her lower back. Flynn was smiling and waving to the two boys as they returned home. "Where did you get to?" she'd asked, just realising he should have reached her side earlier than he did.

"I was just watching," he'd smiled knowingly before leading her towards their own home.

 

"You were really good out there," he'd said once they were in their bedroom, sparking off a conversation that for the first time made them really think about what they wanted as well as the practicalities and potential dangers of raising a child as Librarian and Guardian.)

 

 

With a shaking hand Eve brought the phone closer to her and through her blurred vision managed to dial Flynn's number. When it rang out she ended the call and tried again. This time he picked up.

_"Hey, I was just thinking about you,"_ his cheery voice echoed through the phone. His joyful tone cut into her like a knife through her heart. She squeezed her eyes shut and brought a hand up to her mouth to bite on the nail of her thumb, all the while trying to hold back her sobs. _"Eve?"_ Flynn questioned. _"This is you isn't it? This better not be you prank calling me again Ezek-"_

"It's me," she finally answered, forcing herself to regain composure.

_"Hey! There you are. Everything okay?"_

"Are you going to be home soon?" she asked, avoiding his question.

_"Um I have a few things to wrap up, shouldn't take too long but don't wait up,"_ came his vague reply.

"Oh. Okay."

_"What's wrong?"_ Flynn knew that voice, it was the one she used when trying to convince everyone and herself that she was okay. 

Biting back a reflexive replyof 'nothing', Eve simply stated, "The doctor called."

_"I'll be there in ten minutes."_

 

Eve lowered the phone, her arm giving way as though all the energy had been drained from her. She remained perched on the edge of the bed, staring off into the distance as her thoughts drowned her. 

* * *

Hearing Flynn's footsteps cross the living room, Eve hurriedly wiped her tears away. It wasn't the worst case scenario after all, she didn't want him to think that it was. Her efforts however were in vain. Swivelling around she saw him standing by the door panting, his hair ruffled as ever and one shoelace on the brink of becoming undone.

The moment their eyes locked, silent communication passing between them, her vision blurred once more and she found the strength to rush over to him, a soft sob escaping her lips as she threw her arms around him.

Flynn immediately gripped her tight, one hand going up to cradle her head while the other snaked around her lower back and held her waist. Letting a thumb stroke slowly over her hair as she held her, he rested his cheek against her head as he fought back the tears beginning to prick his own eyes. 

Eventually both their tears subsided and they moved to the bed, settling against the headboard and cuddling up to each other. He threw an arm around her as she nestled into him, and began slowly stroking the back of his fingers against her upper arm, the gentle motion serving to calm her.

"So what exactly did she say?" Flynn asked once he'd noticed her breathing return to normal.

Eve peered up at him, face full of shame. "It's not you," she finally said, voice breaking as her bottom lip began to tremble. "It's my fault." She burrowed into him, hiding her face completely. Another rush of tears ran down her cheeks as guilt wracked her once more. "I'm sorry," she wept against him. 

Flynn curled his free arm around her and held her tight, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Hey, don't apologise.It's _not_  your fault, okay?" The sound of her sobs and the feel of her hot tears penetrating his shirt hit him hard. His own heart felt as though it were being squeezed by the hand of a vengeful enemy. 

"You don't understand," she continued to wail. 

Leaning back slightly, he returned the blonde locks that had been obscuring his view of her behind her ear then hooked a finger under her chin and urged her gaze upwards. "Tell me," he said softly. 

Sniffling, she shuffled to sit a little more upright though never leaving his loving embrace. "Um...remember I told you that about that explosion I was in when I was in a little city just north of Baghdad?" she asked. Flynn nodded. "I was standing right by a couple of windows when it happened. The force of the blast sent me flying backwards and all the shards of glass from the windows hit me. They were everywhere. I wasn't conscious long enough at the time to see it, I hit my head when I fell. When I woke up I was in one of the medic tents. That's when I saw them." She frowned at the recollection. "They weren't necessarily bad, most of them were just cosmetic injuries, a few scrapes, but there were a lot. I did have a few deeper cuts though; one on my thigh and on the calf of my other leg, one on my arm, a couple on my stomach...and two more."

Her gaze had drifted as she relayed her story but had flickered back over to him at those last few words. Flynn saw tears brimming in her eyes and she swallowed hard in an attempt to dispel them. She fell silent for a moment, head drooping down, her gaze focusing solely on her nails which she'd nervously begun to pick at.  Taking a deep breath, she licked her lips and looked up at him again.

"When I woke up they told me what happened, how long I'd been out and what they'd done to fix me up. A lot of it was just cleaning up the little scrapes but they said that two of the deeper cuts were pretty bad. One had cut into my fallopian tube, the other my uterus." She let the tears spill down her cheeks again. "They said it would heal," she whispered with a sob.

Flynn pulled her close, letting his eyes flutter shut. Every part of him ached for her. It made sense now, why she'd said it was her fault. He knew that she probably really believed that too. He'd known her long enough to know how her mind worked, knew better than anyone how hard she could be on herself. She'd feel like a failure, as though she'd failed _him_.

He ploughed through his brain, riffling through all the words he knew trying to find the right ones to use. But he couldn't. He didn't know what to say, he didn't know how to make it better. So for a while he just held her, enveloping her so tightly she could hear the beating of his heart against his chest. 

"Is that what the test results showed?" he finally spoke a while later, Eve still resting against him. "That your wounds in those places never healed?"

She gave a small nod. "Not as well as they should have. The tube healed better but it's still damaged enough that if an egg tries to pass through it, it might not get very far, and even if it does my uterus is too scarred and fragile to hold a baby for as long as it needs to."

"Is that why you've been missing your periods?"

"Yeah. At first I just attributed it to the injury, they said it would take a while to heal. Then I thought it was just because I was getting older, I mean yeah it was a little early but in my line of work I wasn't going to complain." She let out a small laugh and added, "I thought I was lucky." Flynn gave her arm a little squeeze and they fell silent for a moment. "Do you think this is a sign?" she wondered out loud a minute later. 

"A sign of what?" Flynn questioned, brow furrowing.

She hesitated then said, "That we're not supposed to be parents, or at least that I'm not supposed to be a mom."

"Eve," he cut in firmly.

"No hear me out. I mean I never really considered myself the mom type, I just didn't think I was built for it. I never really sat down and thought about it until..." 

"Until _we_ talked about it?" Flynn completed her sentence. 

"Yeah," she nodded.

"So what you're saying," a grin tugged at his lips as he spoke, "is that I'm so much of a man that when you married me I set off this natural maternal feeling in you?"

Wearing a raised eyebrow and the hint of a grin, she slowly met his gaze and stared at him incredulously. "Shut up," she couldn't help but laugh. Shaking her head, she briefly nuzzled into the crook of his shoulder, leaving a kiss there. His ability to make her smile in the worst of times never ceased to amaze her.

"I'm just dissecting what you said," he cried in mock defence. "The evidence is there Eve, I can't ignore it."

"Seriously though, what if this is nature's way of saying 'you were right, this job's not for you', or 'whoops too late, you had your chance and you didn't want kids'?"

"You seriously believe that, Eve?" Flynn questioned. She shrugged in response. "I don't think Mother Nature goes around selecting candidates for motherhood, trust me I've met her, she didn't mention it."

"Of course you've met Mother Nature," she muttered in a sing-song voice.

"And you could've grown up wanting to be a mom but you still could've been in that explosion and be in the situation you are now," he continued, ignoring her sarcasm, despite finding it amusing. "I know that finding a meaning for things makes it easier to deal with them but sometimes it's as simple as you got injured and there are consequences to that injury. Cause and effect. It sucks but honey you can't punish yourself."

"But I can't carry your baby." Her voice was quiet again, filled with regret.

"It's not that you can't, it'll just be a little difficult. That's what the doctor said right?" he clarified, urging her to see the possibilities. She nodded again. "She didn't say it was impossible?" 

"No," Eve shook her head, slowly beginning to accept that he had a point. "She actually made a point to say it wasn't."

"Well there you go. We eat the impossible for breakfast every day, there's no way I'm letting you believe we can't do this. So the traditional way might not work as well for us," he shrugged. "That just means we find another way. There's  _always_  another way Eve. How many times have we found that out?"

Slipping his hand in hers, interlocking their fingers, he raised it to his lips and pressed a kiss to the back of it.

"We're gonna get to go on this adventure okay? There'll just be a few more mountains to climb, a few more rivers to cross, a few storms to get through-"

"Okay, okay, I get the metaphors," she held up her free hand encouraging him to stop, though the smile she wore illustrated her appreciation of his words. Gripping his hand a little tighter she added, "Thank you."

"For what? Loving you? Anytime," he winked. "But you gotta do me a favour."

"What?"

"Don't ever apologise about any of this. Deal?"

"Deal," she conceded, though she knew a small part of her guilt would remain.

As she gazed into the loving wood brown pools of his eyes, she couldn't help but wonder if his earlier claim had been right. Maybe he had influenced her somehow. She'd found a permanent home, a new family and now she wanted to start her own, and as smug as he'd be if he could read her thoughts, she couldn't deny that between those things he was the common denominator.

He gave her a small reassuring smile as his thumb delicately stroked the back of her hand.

"This is going to happen for us Eve," he promised.

How he could be so confident about it she didn't know, but she found that despite everything, she believed him. 

**Author's Note:**

> Anything and everything is appreciated :) x


End file.
